Garment hanger organizer and dispenser



Filed Jan. 29, 1959 G. TABBI GARMENT HANGER ORGANIZER AND DISPENSER 2Sheets-Sheet 1 FIG. I

IN VEN TOR.

GUY TABB! BY KENWAY,JENNEY,W1TTER e1 HILDRETH ATTORNEYS I 22, 195 G.TABBI GARMENT HANGER ORGANIZER AND DISPENSER Filed Jan. 29, 1959 2Sheets-Sheet 2 FIG. 2

INVENTOR.

GUY TABBI BY KENW Y IFNNEY, WITTFR WI PETH ATTORNEYS GARMENT HANGERORGANIZER AND DISPENSER Guy Tabbi, North Andover, Mass., assignor toGrieco- Bros, Inc., Lawrence, Mass., a corporation of MassachusettsApplication January 29, 1959, Serial No. 789,866

3 Claims. (Cl. 211-49) This invention relates in general to apparatusfor or ganizing, storing and dispensing garment hangers.

The invention may be described briefly as a rack comprising a numberofvertically disposed rods mounted between a pair of plates, at least oneof which rods is removable. The rods engage and support a stack orstacks of garment hangers which may be withdrawn by extracting theremovable rod from the structure.

This invention will find its greatest utility wherever large quantitiesof garment hangers are used, such as in clothing factories, dry cleaningplants and the like.

Heretofore the handling of garment hangers on a large scale has been arandom and haphazard alfair with the hangers usually piled promiscuouslyin a heap. To separate a hanger from such a heap is a frustrating andtime consuming task since the hangers generally become snarled withother hangers, inviting breakage and making a tangled mess of the wholeaffair. Since these hangers should be readily available when neededanything other than systematic handling presents a condition which ifnot dangerous, is at least inefiicient and inconvenient.

Therefore it is an object of this invention to improve the handling ofgarment hangers.

Another object of this invention is to provide an efiicient apparatusfor organizing, storing and dispensing garment hangers.

Another object of this invention is to eliminate tangling of garmenthangers when used in large quantities.

These and other objects and features will more readily appear from adetailed description of a preferred embodiment of the invention withreference being made to the accompanying drawings in which:

Fig. 1 is a view in perspective of a rack made in accordance with myinvention, and

Fig. 2 is a sectional view taken along the line 22 of Fig. 1.

In the drawings the reference character generally indicates a rackuseful for storing several stacks of coat hangers 12 and dispensing themas needed. The rack is preferably mounted on a dolly 14 having a singlefixed caster 16 and two movable casters 18, so that the rack may beconveniently moved from place to place.

The rack itself includes a generally fiat rectangular base 20 from whichextend a number (in this instance four) of vertically mounted supports22 in the form of rods or pipes. At the upper end of these supports 22is carried a top plate 24 similar in contour to the base 26 but ofslightly smaller dimensions.

As best shown in Fig. 2 it will be seen that the supports 22 extendfrom-a central area of the base 20 and are spaced from one another in adiamond pattern. The hooks of the hangers engage each of the supports 22with the arms of the hangers facing towards a side of the base 20.

Also mounted between the base 20 and the top plate 24 are a number (fourhere) of fixed bars 26 each disposed approximately midway between asupport 22 and a. corner of the base 20. At their upper portions thesebars are offset as at 28 to permit loading of hangers onto the rack.This feature will be more clearly understood from a description of theloading and unloading operations which will be made herein.

In the top plate 24 are formed four holes in register with correspondingholes 30 formed in the base 20. Each pair of these holes receives aremovable locking rod 32 which, in place, extends between the base andthe top plate 24. A handle 34 may be attached to the locking rod tofacilitate the insertion and removal of the rod. The location of thelocking rods 32 in respect to the supports 22 is at a pointapproximately midway between each support and a corner of the baseadjacent to the corner mentioned in reference to the fixed bar 26.

It will be apparent now that the supports, bars and rods are arranged infour groups each group composed of a support 22, a fixed bar 26 and alocking rod 32. As seen in Fig. 2 each group defines a wide basetriangle, with a locking rod at one base angle, a fixed bar. 26 atanother base angle and a support 22 at the apex. It is by means of eachtriangular group of bar, rod and support that a rack is formed toembrace a stack of garment hangers.

When the locking rod 32 is in place the rack is loaded by inserting ahanger horizontally into the rack first at a point above the offset 28.The inward movement of the hanger is limited by the locking rod 32 andthe upper extension of the bar 26 as appears by the hanger in position Aof the left hand stack of Fig. 2.

The offset affords room for the hook to pass slightly beyond the hook 22and guides the hook into engagement with the support when the hanger ispulled diagonally to the right as indicated by the arrow in Fig. 2 andthus into the loaded and locked position B as shown in the drawings. Inthis position the hanger is restrained by the rod 32, the lowerextension of the bar 26 and the support 22.

To unload the hanger the locking rod 32 is withdrawn entirely from therack. This permits the hanger to be rocked about the fixed bar 26,thereby disengaging the hook from the support 22 and allowing the hangerto be extracted.

This unloading operation is more graphically depicted by Fig. 2 of thedrawings. In the right hand stack of hangers the locking rod 32 has beenremoved from the hole 30 leaving the hanger free to be moved in adirection indicated by the arrow, from position C to position D. Thismotion disengages the hook and the hanger may now be lifted from therack.

In the usual course of events the hangers would be removed one at a timeby taking the topmost hanger from the stack which has its locking rodremoved, or, alternatively, several may be taken at a time and hung on ahandle bar 36 from which they will be more readily available. This barmay be a length of tubing bent into a handle extending horizontally fromthe top plate 24 and is suitable for pushing the rack about on itsdolly.

When the rack is depleted the rod 32 is replaced and a fresh supply ofhangers are stacked in the rack in the manner already described.

While I have shown a rack which can handle four stacks of hangers it isobvious that the number of stacks may be increased or decreased asdesired by rearranging the groups of supports, bars and rods. Othermodifications will appear to those skilled in the art without departingfrom the spirit of my invention.

Having thus described my invention what I claim and desire to obtain byLetters Patent of the United States l. A rack for storing and dispensinggarment hangers,

comprising a base, a hook-engaging support extending vertically fromsaid base and carrying an overhead top plate, a bar spaced from saidsupport extending between said base and said top plate and adapted tobear against an arm of a garment hanger, said bar being offset at itsupper portion to permit loading of said hangers, and a removable lockingrod spaced from said support and said bar extending between said baseand top plate and adapted to bear against another arm of the hanger tohold a stack of said hangers hooked to said support, and when removedpermitting said hangers to be unlocked therefrom.

2. Apparatus for storing and dispensing garment hangers including adolly, a base mounted on said dolly, a number of hook-engaging supportsextending vertically from said base and carrying an overhead top plate,an equal number of fixed bars extending between said base and top plateto bear against one arm of hangers stacked on thebase, said bars beingoffset at their upper portions to permit the loading of hangers on saidapparatus, a like number of removable locking rods extending betweensaid base and top plate and arranged to hold separate stacks of hangershooked to said support and when removed permitting individual hangers tobe unlocked for use, and each having a handle located above the topplate.

3. A rack for storing and dispensing garment hangers having a pair ofdiverging arms and a hook midway between said arms, a horizontallydisposed base, a vertically extending support mounted on said base andadapted to engage said hook, a vertically disposed bar spaced from andparallel to said guide rod, said bar being fixed to said base plate andadapted to bear against one arm of said hanger, a top plate engagingsaid support and said bar, a locking rod spaced from and parallel tosaid support and said bar, said rod removably engaging said top plateand said base and adapted to bear against another arm of said hangerwhen in position, said support, said bar and said rod defining a rackfor stacking a number of said hangers, said bar being offset in itsupper portion to permit the locking of said hanger on said rack, andremoval of said rod permitting said hangers to be unloaded from saidrack.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS

